“I Wanna Be the Very Best!” Agreeableness and Perseverance Predict Sustained Playing to Pokémon Go: A Longitudinal Study

Objective: The smartphone game Pokemon Go has attracted much scientific attention regarding its potential health-related outcomes. Most studies, however, limited their investigation to short-term outcomes. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of personality traits in predicting sustained playing to the game on a 6-month period as well as related health outcomes in terms of distance walked per day.

Materials and Methods: Pokemon Go players from 10 countries were recruited through social media and answered an online questionnaire. At Phase I (August 2016), 402 participants provided their game statistics and filled an extensive personality inventory (six main personality traits, impulsivity, need for cognition, need for closure, competitiveness, and self-efficacy). At Phase II (December 2016), 151 participants indicated whether they were still playing or not and provided updated game statistics.

Results: No personality traits predicted the distance walked by the players. However, the probability of still being playing the game at Phase II was positively predicted by three personality traits: agreeableness, perseverance, and premeditation. Distance walked per day significantly decreased between Phases I and II but remained substantial.

Conclusion: This study identified three personality traits that predicted sustained playing and thus potentially higher game-related physical activity in the long run. In comparison with prior work, this study goes a step forward by (i) investigating personality traits underlying use of the game and related health outcomes, and (ii) providing longitudinal data concerning the use of the game. Findings open new perspectives for the development of other exergames.